Lake Malawi is home to about 1,000 species of fish, which researchers say is at the verge of depletion by 2050 should the use of plastic bags remain unchecked.
Malawi banned the use of thin plastics in 2012. However, the ban was suspended after the Plastic Manufacturers Association of Malawi obtained a court order negating it, saying the ban posed a danger to their businesses.
Although the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the ban in July this year, communities living along Lake Malawi still complain of plastics flooding the lake.
“These plastic bags are heavily affecting lives of fish in the lake,” said Time Mbewe, vice chairman for the Village Beach Committee responsible for taking care of lake resources in the Makawa area. “For example, we have a lot of fish around this area in the past, but now the plastic papers are making the fish fail to breathe properly.”
Mbewe says residents cannot force manufacturers to stop producing plastic bags.
“We would wish government empowered us to sensitize traders who are selling the plastic papers to stop it,” he said. “This would help us completely clean the lake of any plastic papers.”
Conservationists say plastic waste is posing a health threat to fish in Lake Malawi.
Meanwhile – Ripple Africa has introduced an initiative that mobilizes communities to pick up the bags in and around the lake.
Besides, the government is running messages on local media, asking people to stop using plastic bags, and instead use carriers that can decompose more easily, like paper and canvas bags.
